Arsenal set for 1.5bn takeover from Middle Esat consortium

Arabs tighten grip on British football as Middle-Eastern consortium launches world record 1.5 billion bid to takeover Arsenal
Bid dwarfs previous record of 800m for Manchester United by Glazer familyArabs already run Manchester City and David Beckham's Paris St Germain

By
Mail On Sunday Reporter

PUBLISHED:

00:45 GMT, 3 March 2013

|

UPDATED:

01:48 GMT, 3 March 2013

A consortium from the Middle East has launched the biggest ever takeover bid for a football club with an offer of 1.5bn for Premier League side Arsenal.

The group, made up of investors from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, hope to tempt American owner Stan Kroenke with the world record sum, reports the Sunday Telegraph.

The mystery consortium members, who are apparently being backed by funds from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, are to bid for every share in the club and have promised the money will be invested in the faltering team, who face a battle to qualify for next season's lucrative Champions League competition.

It blows out of the water the world's previous highest bid for a football team the 800m was made by the American Glazer family for Manchester United and reinforces the growing power wielded by the Middle East in the European game.

Qataris already own another leading Premier League side, Manchester City, who are bankrolled by billionaire Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, while French club Paris St Germain, who recently signed David Beckham, are backed by the Qatar Investment Authority.

American Kroenke is the club's majority shareholder, while Uzbek Alisher Usmanov also holds a significant stake.

The cash offer for Arsenal would reportedly see the potential investors bid around 20,000 per share, making Kroenke's holding worth 830m, and wipe out the club's 250m debts.

A meeting has already been reportedly been requested with the American to discuss the proposed
offer.

Another Qatari, Sheik Mansour (middle), is in charge at Arsenal's rivals, Manchester City

David Beckham's new club, Paris St Germain, are also bankrolled by Qataris

It is unlikely Usmanov will want to sell his shareholding, given his
'dream' of taking control of Arsenal himself, but the Middle East
consortium
believes it will be able to work with the billionaire, who does not
currently have a seat on the board.

Any takeover would inevitably raise questions over the future of manager
Arsene Wenger but the Frenchman is understood to be highly-regarded by
the consortium.

A bid source was quoted as saying: 'Arsenal is at a pivotal position at
the moment. The fear is that the club is facing a cycle of decline like
Liverpool. From our point of view it is the perfect moment to make this bid
because at this moment in time you can still genuinely justify this
extraordinary valuation on the club.